Iranian film wins top prize at Cannes Film Festival

An Iranian film called "It Was Just an Accident", directed by Jafar Panahi, won the top prize—the Palme d’Or—at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Panahi, who has been banned from leaving Iran for over 15 years, created a powerful revenge drama that impressed the jury.

The win also continued a lucky streak for the U.S. film company Neon, which has backed the last six Palme d’Or winners, including "Parasite and Anatomy of a Fall".

Despite a power outage earlier in the day, believed to be caused by arson, the ceremony went on as planned. Other major awards included the Grand Prix (second prize) for "Sentimental Value" by Norwegian director Joachim Trier, and two awards for Brazil’s "The Secret Agent": Best Director for Kleber Mendonça Filho and Best Actor for Wagner Moura.

The Jury Prize was shared between the road movie "Sirât" and the German drama "Sound of Falling". Best Actress went to Nadia Melliti for her role in "The Little Sister", while the Dardenne brothers from Belgium won Best Screenplay for "Young Mothers". The Best First Film award went to "The President’s Cake" by Iraqi filmmaker Hasan Hadi, marking the first Cannes win for an Iraqi film.

Politics also made headlines, as U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a high tax on foreign films—a suggestion that most filmmakers dismissed as unrealistic. American films like Wes Anderson’s "The Phoenician Scheme", Spike Lee’s "Highest 2 Lowest", a new "Mission: Impossible", and Ari Aster’s "Eddington" were among the highlights of this year’s festival.

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